OpenAI is considering slashing prices to lure consumers using Anthropic, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal cited sources familiar with the matter, noting that the company is "weighing significant cuts to what it charges for tokens, the unit of measurement artificial-intelligence firms use to bill for their products."
It went on to note that it expects Anthropic, its main competitor, to make a similar decision. OpenAI currently charges $8, $20 and $100 subscriptions based on its different tiers. Anthropic, on its end, charges $17 every month for an annual subscription to Claude Pro, and $100 and more per month for Claude Max.
The potential development comes shortly after the company's CEO, Sam Altman, said AI spending has become a "huge issue" for companies. Speaking during an enterprise event earlier this month, Altman made reference to conversation about companies scaling back their spending on AI tokens.
He claimed that the issue has gone to dominating the conversation suddenly, noting that it "never came up" at the beginning of the year. "People were totally happy with the amount they were spending," he said, claiming that they are now a "huge issue."
Some of the country's biggest companies have begun rationing access to AI tools, track usage more aggressively, and steer employees toward cheaper tools as costs rise faster than expected.
The pressure point is the token, the basic unit used to measure AI computing. Every prompt consumes tokens. As companies rushed to prove they were AI-ready, usage exploded. So did the bills. According to a Wall Street Journal report, some companies have burned through annual AI budgets in just a few months, while others have seen costs double or triple.
Executives at companies including Uber, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, and DoorDash have either discussed or implemented new controls aimed at making sure AI spending produces measurable gains, not just activity.
The problem has a nickname inside the industry: "tokenmaxxing." It refers to employees using as much AI computing as possible, sometimes because they believe heavy usage signals innovation. But expensive premium models are often used for simple tasks that cheaper systems could handle.
At the same time, the companies have filed IPO drafts and are expected to go public soon. Axios noted that the company could face scrutiny from investor if the IPO takes place, pointing to a report from the Wall Street Journal about missed internal revenue targets and disagreements between Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar over the IPO's timeline.
Anthropic also filed for an IPO in June. The filing remains confidential as it undergoes revision by the Securities and Exchange Commission reviews. It comes earlier than expected, with NBC News noting that it was expected to being trading in the fall.
"This gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review," the company said in a statement. "The number of shares to be offered and the price have not yet been set." The outlet noted that beating OpenAI to the market is key for the company because both companies will be seeking billions in new capital close to each other.
